Individuals undergoing ostomy type surgical operations have an outside opening or stoma in the skin of their body, which is then usually connected to an ostomy bag for receiving wastes from the body. This stoma is usually in the front lower torso area of the body. The stoma is usually a very delicate device, and does not have sufficient strength to support an ostomy bag. Many garments are known which can be worn by the individual to support an ostomy bag. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,468,310, 4,533,355, 5,135,520, 6,110,156, and 6,468,254 describe such garments and are hereby incorporated by reference.
The stoma and ostomy bag on the individual often needs to be accessed for inspection, maintenance, cleaning, and connection/disconnection of the ostomy bag from the stoma. The stoma is often very delicate and applicant has found that moving an ostomy support garment to gain access to the stoma and/or ostomy bag can often be difficult and cause injury to the individual or user of the garment. Also, very often the user of the garment has had the ostomy type surgical operations because of a more serious physical disability. These additional physical disabilities can make it additionally difficult to access the ostomy bag and/or stoma. Many garments are known which allow easy donning and removal of the garments or access to the portion of the body covered by the garment. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,145,763, 4,675,918, 5,174,305, 5,315,716, and 5,706,523 describe such garments and are hereby incorporated by reference.
However the above cited prior art does not teach nor suggest an ostomy bag support garment where it is as easy to access the stoma and ostomy bag as in the present invention.